So far, this month had been a mixed bag. On the one hand, I was happy about what had happened at the vampire bar. The task force had succeeded, and we had foiled an attempted vampire attack with few injuries.
But the memories of the werewolf attack still lingered in people's minds. There were starting to be random attacks on supernatural citizens.
Vampires were having garlic thrown through their windows, werewolves were getting their mailboxes filled with wolfsbane, and numerous bug zappers were being hanged everywhere fairies were known to hang out.
It wasn't just effecting supernatural citizens, either. Random people holding umbrellas, suspected of being vampires protecting themselves from the sun, would have their umbrellas snatched from them.
Anyone who was vegetarian was accused of hiding their fairy wings. Anyone who ate a lot of meat was accused of being a werewolf.
Just stopping supernatural attacks was clearly not enough. We needed to convince people not all supernatural people were bad. I guess I could be an entry point for that. Perhaps I could hold some kind of party at the task-force building, to show that we have a group of supernatural leaders who will protect everyone.
I was thinking about this on my daily jog to work, when I spotted a curious sign on the window of the book store.
It read 'GORDON JOHNSON BOOK SIGNINGS TODAY'.
Gordon Johnson? I'd heard that name before.
Before, he would have been seen as a dangerous nutcase, but after that werewolf attack in full public view? People were afraid and they wanted to be protected. I noticed that in the bookstore there was quite a large crowd. Much larger than I was expecting.
I began to continue on my way to work. It was then that, in the distance, I saw two spires glowing. Uh oh. I know what that means. Somewhere, there was going to be another supernatural attack. Or one was already taking place.
I looked at the park nearby. Half of the trees had been turned into solid gold. I ran to them to get a closer look. There was this middleaged woman, prancing about the place, touching random objects and turning them to gold. Just like Midas. What if she started turning people into gold?
I saw a big van stop at the other end of the park. Out of it jumped Vlad, Ruby, Daybreak and Dawn. Perhaps I should just continue to work. I'm not a supernatural leader. Maybe I should stay out of this for once.
But then I saw her touch Ruby, and instantly my girlfriend was turned into a pillar of gold! I ran right into the park, terrified that my girlfriend might be dead. I ran straight into the middle-aged woman, and everything went dark.
When I came to, I was lying on my back, lying on the grass, looking up at the faces of Vlad, Ruby, Daybreak and Dawn.
“What happened?” I asked as I stood up.
“That middle-aged woman turned you to gold. Dawn turned you back to normal. We think she was enchanted. Her ability to turn everything to gold faded off about thirty minutes ago, and now she's at the police station talking like she doesn't remember a thing. Could be the work of another rogue witch, like Arabella. Or maybe she stumbled upon a den of fairy dust,” Daybreak said.
“What do the police think?” I asked, turning to Ruby.
“We're putting out a story that there was a gas leak that made everyone think the trees had been turned gold. But it's been taken care of and now there's nothing to worry about,” Ruby said.
“I hate to say this, but I think the police need to be doing more about these supernatural cases. For centuries, both mortals and supernaturals have lived together in Normal with few problems. Until the last few months. There must be somebody behind this recent spate of attacks,” Dawn said.
“We don't really have any good leads on the matter, though I agree that there must some bigger fish out there who's guiding all of this. But who? And why?” Ruby asked.
Out in the distance, I could see a small crowd was forming. At the head of this crowd was a short, pale-faced man wearing a dapper black suit. He wore on his face an obnoxious smirk that was already annoying me.
“Well, will you all look at this? Those supernaturals have messed around with Normal again. How long are us normal people going to sit by and say nothing? Are we just going to stand around and let ourselves get butchered by these supernatural freaks?!” the man asked the crowd. There were a few shouts amongst the crowd.
“Hey! At least give us a chance to defend ourselves!” Vlad said, taking a few steps towards the crowd. The other supernatural leaders and I followed in his wake.
“And who are you?” The man asked.
“I'm Vlad, leader of the vampires of Normal. Besides me is Ruby, the leader of the werewolves of Normal. There is also Daybreak, leader of the fairies of Normal. And there is also Dawn, leader of the witches of Normal. And trailing at the end there is Al Norm. He is not supernatural like us, but he can vouch for our ethics. He is like our spokesperson. Or something,” Vlad said.
“When was that decided?” I asked.
“When we let you start hanging out with us all the time,” Vlad said.
“Right. Listen, I need you to understand how you look right now. If this were anywhere but Normal, you'd be called insane for talking the way you're talking right now. So please, just take a breather. First, can you tell me your name?” I asked.
“Gordon Johnson,” the man said. I raised my eyebrows. Gordon's smirk grew larger.
“Oh, I see you've heard of me. Well, as recent events have proven, I am not insane. Every day, more and more normal people are becoming aware of the existence of werewolves, vampires, fairies and witches,” Gordon said, then pointed a finger at Ruby, “and I have people like you to thank for it, after you sent your furry friends to attack that supermarket,”
“I didn't order them to do anything! I did everything in my power to stop them! And you say that more and more people are coming to be aware of our existence? Only in a place like Normal. Everywhere else, we're just folk tales,” Ruby said.
“Not for long. Soon, the whole world will know the reality of you freaks,” Gordon said.
“Listen, we're not your enemy, buddy. We want to stop these supernatural attacks as much as you do. After that werewolf attack, we formed a task force that will alert us to a supernatural attack. We stopped a vampire attack just last month,” Daybreak said.
“We wouldn't be having attacks of any kind if you freaks did not live amongst us normal people! In the good old days, the supernaturals stayed in the woods. They didn't pour our coffee or drive our taxis. In the good old days, if a bunch of werewolves were approaching the village, we would shoot them down, not invite them inside for a cup of tea!” Gordon said.
“Not in Normal. It's been a haven for both the supernatural and the normal for centuries,” Dawn said.
“We used to burn witches like you,” Gordon said, pointing one finger directly at Dawn, then at Victor, “and vampires like you used to get the stake. But now I see you out here in public with an umbrella over your head like it's nothing. I even heard that there's a werewolf working for the police!”
“That would be me, and that's a good thing, because I'm keeping our community safer,” Ruby said.
“Nothing is safe when you people are around! Just by being here, you are a direct threat to all of our lives! You should go find some wolf pack to join out in the woods, not patrol our streets! As if it weren't bad enough for you to be a career woman, when you would be happier staying at home having children! Because that is what a natural woman is naturally meant to do in nature! But the supernatural have, of course, never cared about what is natural. What's natural is what's normal. Tolerance of anything not normal will doom us all! None of you, whether you're fairies, werewolves, witches or vampires should be living amongst us. You don't belong here,” Gordon said.
“Well, whether we belong here or not, it is not your decision. We will continue to live in Normal and we will continue to protect ungrateful jerks like you,” Ruby said.
“Did you hear that? She thinks all normal people are jerks! Is this who you want as your protector, normal people?” Gordon asked.
“I don't think all normal people are jerks, you idiot!” Ruby exclaimed. Gordon's smirk grew even wider. He turned back to the crowd.
“See how aggressive these werewolves are? Are these the sorts of people we want to allow to live in the normal town of Normal?” Gordon asked.
There was a chorus of resounding 'no's from the crowd.
“You keep talking like that and I'll show you just how aggressive us werewolves really can be!” Ruby exclaimed, raising her police baton. Oh dear. I decided I'd better step in before we had a case of police brutality on our hands.
“Dear, please calm down, he's just trying to rile you up,” I said. Gordon looked over at me.
“Dear?!? Do you mean to tell me that this dog is your girlfriend?!?” Gordon asked with a chuckle. Many members of the crowd joined in enthusiastically, practically laughing their heads off.
“She's not a dog, she's a werewolf,” I said.
“She's not just a werewolf. She's the leader of the werewolves in this community. An alpha female. Something that certainly never occurs in nature. She is your superior, and you are her pet, pretty much. She goes to work while you stay home and cook? Does this seem normal to you?” Gordon asked.
“Actually, I'm an office worker,” I said, but Gordon did not seem to have heard.
“This wasn't how it was in the olden days. A family used to be a strong bread-winning father, a caring housewife, and 2.5 children. And the father would go out into the woods to protect their wife and children from the big, bad monsters. That's the way it always was, and the way it was always meant to be.
But now, that's all in the past, and the present is a disaster! Is this what we want the future to be? Dangerous and unpredictable? Is that what you want, Al Norm? Because that is what will happen when the supernatural and abnormal are allowed to prosper.
I will leave it at that for now, but I hope you will think about what I said. And about what company you choose to keep,” Gordon said, and stormed off.